Dropshipping from the other side

[ScottKR]

My wife and I manufacture and sell some items via Facebook, Etsy and Ebay and have just been approached by a dropshipper who is based in Spain. We sell all over the world but in very small quantities outside of the UK so to be able to tap into other markets in a bigger way would be great.

I'm naturally the one who likes to take things steady and do plenty of research whereas my wife is the 'what's the worst that can happen' kind of person!

So for anybody on here that does dropshipping, what details did you have to sort out with your suppliers? Is there any advice you can give me that would help before we go into any negotiations? And who holds the power in the relationship?

Thank you

 

[Ray272]

The payments are something that need sorting.

For example if payment by PayPal then the DS customer needs to change the ship to address to that of the end user each time they pay you for a sale.

We request clients pay by transferwise for this type of business as it's cheaper for them and us and less hassles down the line.

We charge cost of item + shipping + picking and packing. Flat rate inside EU. a touch more for Norway & Switzerland.

Maybe need to adjust shipping costs in Spain to account for non mainland Spain.

 

[Mr D]

We have done supplying to dropshippers for years.
Usually no problems.

If item goes missing there can be a problem as buyer will tell the seller and the seller will tell you - and you may not want to send replacement.

To me its simply extra orders and I'm getting the price I want, the dropshipper makes some money too that's his business.

 

[ScottKR]

The payments are something that need sorting.

For example if payment by PayPal then the DS customer needs to change the ship to address to that of the end user each time they pay you for a sale.

That's something that had occurred to me, we all make mistakes and I would definitely forget to change the address on all of the orders!

We request clients pay by transferwise for this type of business as it's cheaper for them and us and less hassles down the line.

I've never heard of Transferwise but will have a look this morning.

We charge cost of item + shipping + picking and packing. Flat rate inside EU. a touch more for Norway & Switzerland.

Maybe need to adjust shipping costs in Spain to account for non mainland Spain.

I'm quite nerdy when it comes to shipping abroad and tend to check about 10 different companies.

Thank you for your advice

 

[ScottKR]

We have done supplying to dropshippers for years.
Usually no problems.

If item goes missing there can be a problem as buyer will tell the seller and the seller will tell you - and you may not want to send replacement.

We've had a few issues with shipping abroad but it's generally because I go through a broker to find the cheapest rather than ensuring the delivery company is contactable.

To me its simply extra orders and I'm getting the price I want, the dropshipper makes some money too that's his business.

I've seen a few Amazon sellers complain when their items are being re-sold on Ebay by dropshippers but my theory is, as long as they're selling at a price that they're happy with, who cares!!